Abstract

This report presents the application and validation of the Washington University Aircraft Design Software (WUADS) using the Dornier 228 as a representative short- to mediumrange aircraft case study. The objective of this work is to improve the reliability of the WUADS model by testing its ability to reproduce the geometry, weight, aerodynamic performance, stability characteristics, and mission behavior of an existing aircraft with known design and performance data. The Dornier 228 was selected because of its regional aircraft configuration and its relevance to future hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft studies. In this work, key aircraft parameters, including fuselage dimensions, wing geometry, passenger capacity, operating empty weight, payload, cargo weight, propulsion characteristics, center-ofgravity location, neutral point location, and mission profile inputs, were collected and implemented into the WUADS framework. The resulting model was used to generate aircraft weight reports, mission reports, aerodynamic outputs, and longitudinal stability estimates. Preliminary results show that the Dornier 228 model in WUADS is able to capture the overall aircraft configuration and performance trends with reasonable agreement compared to published reference data. The calculated neutral point was approximately 32.83 ft from the aircraft nose, the reference center-of-gravity location was approximately 32.30 ft from the aircraft nose, and the resulting static margin was approximately 8.5%. The WUADS takeoff gross weight was 14,495 lb, matching the published maximum takeoff weight. The estimated operating empty weight was 8,280.77 lb, which differs from the published value of 8,598 lb by approximately 3.7%. The WUADS fuel weight was 4,187.32 lb, differing from the published fuel capacity of 4,156 lb by approximately 0.75%. The mission analysis predicted a ferry range of approximately 1,268.41 nmi, compared with the published ferry range of 1,276 nmi, giving a difference of approximately 0.59%. The modeled cruise speed was approximately 219.3 kn, compared with the published cruise speed of 223 kn, giving a difference of approximately 1.7%. These results indicate that the WUADS Dornier 228 model provides a reasonable baseline for preliminary hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion application.

Document Type

Final Report

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Author's Department

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Class Name

Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences Independent Study

Language

English (en)

Date of Submission

5-18-2026

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